How is it that people here and elsewhere get away with saying things like... they do not believe a melting ice cap will raise sea levels, because like melting ice in a glass, melting ice caps will not add volume or raise sea levels?

But, if the hysterics were right, given the supposed level of melting in Greenland and Antarctica ,most of florida should be underwater now.

However, most of the ice in the Arctic is floating on the ocean. The weight of the ice is the same as the water it displaces, so when the arctic ice melts, it is, as you say, like an ice cube melting in a cup of water. As it melts, the volume of water does not change.

It's so funny, we had the Wisconsin deglaciation that cause the sea to rise 500 feet, drowning whole cities and civilizations and now if the tempo rises .5% anywhere on the planet, people get hysterical.

How is it that people here and elsewhere get away with saying things like... they do not believe a melting ice cap will raise sea levels, because like melting ice in a glass, melting ice caps will not add volume or raise sea levels?

Click to expand...

Melting ice does not give the world as a whole more h2o. It can however move it from ice on mountains as mentioned earlier to ice in the sea which would raise sea level.

But, if the hysterics were right, given the supposed level of melting in Greenland and Antarctica ,most of florida should be underwater now.

However, most of the ice in the Arctic is floating on the ocean. The weight of the ice is the same as the water it displaces, so when the arctic ice melts, it is, as you say, like an ice cube melting in a cup of water. As it melts, the volume of water does not change.

Second, I am glad of that you have heard of Archimedes, but have you heard of Newtonian Physics? It is impossible to accurately measure sea level because there is a giant celestial body that is orbiting our planet roughly 400K km away. As a result, and because of Newtonian Physics, it tends to pull on the oceans (tides). Because Earth is not spherical, and the moon does not travel at the same speed compared to Earths speed of rotation. The effect of the moons gravity on tides will always be different, so sea level data is worth less. Now your could do a mass balance, or even a volume balance. If you take 100 oz and add a 10oz ice cube to it, you will get a 10% increase in the amount of water.
See isnt science fun. =P

But, if the hysterics were right, given the supposed level of melting in Greenland and Antarctica ,most of florida should be underwater now.

However, most of the ice in the Arctic is floating on the ocean. The weight of the ice is the same as the water it displaces, so when the arctic ice melts, it is, as you say, like an ice cube melting in a cup of water. As it melts, the volume of water does not change.

But, if the hysterics were right, given the supposed level of melting in Greenland and Antarctica ,most of florida should be underwater now.

However, most of the ice in the Arctic is floating on the ocean. The weight of the ice is the same as the water it displaces, so when the arctic ice melts, it is, as you say, like an ice cube melting in a cup of water. As it melts, the volume of water does not change.

Second, I am glad of that you have heard of Archimedes, but have you heard of Newtonian Physics? It is impossible to accurately measure sea level because there is a giant celestial body that is orbiting our planet roughly 400K km away. As a result, and because of Newtonian Physics, it tends to pull on the oceans (tides). Because Earth is not spherical, and the moon does not travel at the same speed compared to Earths speed of rotation. The effect of the moons gravity on tides will always be different, so sea level data is worth less. Now your could do a mass balance, or even a volume balance. If you take 100 oz and add a 10oz ice cube to it, you will get a 10% increase in the amount of water.
See isnt science fun. =P

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The tides don't change the volume of the water. Sea levels are a tidal average.

The arctic ice cap, which everyone talks about is not adding to the cup of water, it is the ice on top of the cup of water. If it is ice or water does not matter, as the level does not change if the ice cube melts.

Now the ice on Greenland, and on Antarctica does matter, as that is not sitting in the ocean, and if that melts, then the sea level should increase. And according to the hysterics, it has been melting, and a lot of water is/was contained in that ice.

But average sea levels have not been rising as much as the hysterics predicted. That means that the amount of water coming off the glaciers is less than they predicted. Which means the melt is less as well.

That doesn't mean there isn't climate change. Louissa remembers being able to ski on Mt. Hood in the summer. These days the amount of snow Mt Hood gets is such that you can't even ski at timberline until October. And I think the Ski Bowl has shut down as it never gets enough snow to make it worth while to operate anymore.

It is just important to remember what is part of the normal workings of the natural system, and that the amount we can do for good or ill, is relatively minor.

But, if the hysterics were right, given the supposed level of melting in Greenland and Antarctica ,most of florida should be underwater now.

However, most of the ice in the Arctic is floating on the ocean. The weight of the ice is the same as the water it displaces, so when the arctic ice melts, it is, as you say, like an ice cube melting in a cup of water. As it melts, the volume of water does not change.

Click to expand...

I remember when you could ski Mt Hood at the beginning of the summer.

Click to expand...

You still can. Timberline has skiing all summer long on the Plamer glacier, they only close in October for maintenance.

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